Monday, November 30, 2009

Tebow Draft Watch: Will Vince Young Help?

Vince Young's success this season can't help but boost Tim Tebow's NFL stock. It is even more relevant today: Yesterday was the best game of VY's NFL career, culminating in that dramatic 99-yard 2-minute-drill and his last-second game-winning TD toss.

Lesson 1: Patience. Even though VY won Rookie of the Year, his career had fallen apart right through the start of this season. It took him 3.5 seasons to finally master the NFL -- folks need to remember that it could take Tebow that long, as well.

Lesson 2: System. Make no mistake: The Titans have optimized their offense to build around VY's strengths. VY has ultimately benefited from playing next to the most dynamic offensive force in the NFL today, Chris Johnson -- who keeps defenses honest.

If Tim Tebow is going to play QB in the NFL in a full-time role, he needs a similar set-up: Patience, plus a system geared to his strengths and being complemented by all-world players. (The problem is that it's not like you can find Chris Johnsons on any old team.)

1 comment:

VY is a good comparison, but there's an even better parallel that played for the same franchise and head coach. When the Titans drafted McNair (RIP), they could afford to let him sit on the bench and learn the game. When it was time for McNair to start, they went with a run-heavy offense and then a lot of roll-out passes to Wycheck, that always seemed to get seven yards on third and six. Eventually, as McNair developed, he became a complete and MVP-caliber QB. That could very well be the ideal career path for Tebow, although obviously his post-football life will hopefully be much different.